Political Pursuits
by Kai01
Summary: Kai Fong is the son of a city Councilman, and Jinora Gyatso is the daughter of the Governor. One day, they meet unexpectedly, and a bond begins to form.
1. Beginnings

It was another day, and the sun was gleaming over the horizon. Kai Fong was still quietly asleep in his bed, not yet ready to awake. Quietly, the door to his room creaks open and his father walks in.

"Kai, c'mon buddy, you need to wake up. I have an early meeting today with Governor Gyatso to discuss the city's budget." Yung said.

Yung had found Kai on the streets of Omashu during a trip there for a political conference, and right then and there, Yung knew he couldn't let him stay on the streets. He took Kai back with him to Republic City, where Yung was on the city council. This often meant Kai had to spend long days and nights at the capitol building, and Kai wasn't quite a fan of it.

"C'mon Yung, you can't let me stay home one time from your boring meetings? I'm not even allowed to be in the meeting, I just have to wander around the capitol all day." Kai said, with an annoyed frown on his face. There was nothing for him to at the capitol, and he really hated it. He preferred school to a day at the capitol.

Yung frowns and responds,"Well since you have the day off school, and I don't trust you home alone, yes, you are coming with me today. Speaking of school, you need to work harder. You're in danger of failing English, and you're barely out of the red in History." Kai rolled his eyes and groaned, doing his best to sound annoyed. "Yung please, it's not as if I got the best reading classes on the streets. I'll always be behind." Kai hated how he struggled in school, but by this point, he'd stopped trying, and was just hoping to get the year over with.

Yung had pain stricken on his face, but decided to let that go for now. "We'll discuss this later, just get ready please." With that, Kai was out of bed and preparing for another boring day at the capitol.

* * *

"Jinora, are you ready to leave?" Tenzin called. "Yeah dad, I'll be down in a minute." She responded, hurriedly putting the final touches on her makeup.

She wasn't exactly looking forward to a day at the capitol, but with the election coming, her father had been putting her in the spotlight more and more in an attempt to seem more human. It didn't upset her, she knew it was all part of the political game, but that didn't mean she had to enjoy it.

Jinora Gyatso had always been the perfect daughter. Being the eldest daughter of the Governor, she had to be. She had always kept exceptional grades, and was always a proper lady, especially when the eye of the public. She hated how suffocated she was by the lifestyle that had been chosen for her, but seeing no alternatives, quietly accepted the way things were. After taking one last look in the mirror, she put on the best face she could to mask her true emotions, and headed downstairs to leave with her father.

Getting into the Satomobile, she prepared for another boring day wandering the capitol. She tried as best as she could to mask her tone, but sounding a bit annoyed, she asked her father quizzically, "Why do you even have to be at the capitol so early this morning?" Her father, looking about as annoyed with it as she was, let out a sigh and responded, "Councilman Fong won't let it up on the budget for the city, so we're meeting about it. I'm not sure how long it will take, but knowing how hard headed the the Councilman is, it could be awhile."

Jinora let out a sigh, thankful she had brought her favorite book. The one good thing about the capitol was that it had a lot of little nooks and crannies for her to read in peace.

As the Satomobile pulled up to the capitol, she once again put her fake face on, and with a sigh, exited the vehicle, and entered the capitol.

* * *

Kai arrived at the capitol with his father, and together, they entered. Yung turned to Kai, "Okay buddy, I just gotta run by my office real quick, and then I'm off to meet with the Governor. You know the rules, please behave." With that, Yung gave his son a hug and headed off to his , left with nothing to do, pulled out his phone and began walking, with no particular destination in mind. He often did this on days where his father had private meetings. He kept a charger in his father's office, just in case his battery died. He found it relaxing, having an entire building to walk around while he kept himself busy, but he sometimes wished he had someone to walk with, especially on days like this, where he could well be walking around all day. Little did he know, he wouldn't be walking alone that morning for much longer.

* * *

Jinora followed her father to his office, where she spoke with him briefly before she left to read.

"Dad, why don't Ikki or Meelo ever have to do this?" She asked, trying not to sound too pessimistic about her current situation. Her father groaned and rolled his eyes. "Jinora, we've had this conversation, you have a duty as the first born. You are the one in the public eye, and you just need to accept that." Inside, Jinora was ready to scream, but knew she had to keep her cool.

With a lump in her throat, she responded, "You're right father, thank you. I'm going to go read now." With that, she briskly exited her father's office, and ran down the hall, burying her head in her hands.

Jinora turned the corner and slammed into something, knocking her to the floor, and sending her book sliding a few feet away from her.

* * *

Kai had no idea what had happened. One moment, he had been playing a game on his phone, and the next, something slammed into him, knocking him backwards. He looked down to see what had slammed into him, and it rendered him speechless. On the ground, a few feet away from him, lay the Governor's daughter. He panicked and quickly apologized.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Kai exclaimed as he reached down to help her up. Jinora gets to her feet with Kai's help, and apologizes "Yeah, I'm sorry, I just wasn't paying attention, it's my fault." Kai looks her up and down, and responds, "Don't worry, as long as you're alright, that's what matters."

Kai sees Jinora's book laying on the ground, "Here, let me pick that up for you." Kai grabs Jinora's book from the ground and hands it to her gently. Jinora can feel herself blush slightly as she takes it from him. "Thank you, uhh, Kai right?" Kai nods, "Yeah, I'm Yun- Councilman Fong's, son. You're Jinora right, the Gov-" Jinora interrupts him, "Yes, I'm the Governor's daughter." She says, with an annoyed tone.

Kai realizes he may have struck a nerve, and moves to change the subject. "Since it seems both of us don't really have anything to do today, with our fathers arguing over the stupid budget, do you wanna, uh, walk around with me, I guess?" As Kai says this, a blush begins to wash over his cheeks.

Jinora, who on almost any occasion would've flat out declined any invitation of the sort, thought for a moment. She didn't know why, but this felt, right. Besides, she was going mad spending all her days in the capitol cooped up by herself. Jinora's lips curve up into a smile, "I see no reason why not." And with that, they begin walking together.

After a few minutes of awkward silence between them, Kai finally breaks the silence. "I've never really had someone to talk to when I'm here, it's usually pretty lonely." Kai smiles softly, and Jinora responds. "Yeah, there's not really much to do. I usually just find a quiet spot and read." Kai looks back to her, "Speaking of reading, you seem to do a lot of it. I see you in the school library a lot." She smiles, "Yeah, the library is where I go to do my school work. It's a lot more calm than home, and I find it easier to get things done when I'm there."

They go on talking for a few hours. Kai shows her some of his favorite places to walk in the capitol, and she shows him her most frequented reading spots. Finally, they both received a text from their fathers, telling them the meeting was over, and to come to their offices.

At this, Kai hung his head a bit, as he was having fun talking to Jinora. Jinora, obviously feeling the same way, turns to him. "Give me your phone." She says with a smile. Kai, shoots her a confused look. "What do you need with my phone?" He asks. She grins back at him. "I wanna put my number in there silly! Now give me your phone!" Kai hands over his phone, and Jinora adds herself as a contact. She smiles as they begin to walk in opposite directions, but before they disappear from one another's view, she calls back to him with a grin on her face, "Text me later!" Kai smiles, and continues to his father's office.

* * *

Once Jinora is home, she spends all of her time texting back and forth with Kai. She doesn't know why, but Kai feels… different, from her normal friends. She learns that whenever Kai's father has to go work and the capitol, and there's no school, Kai is with him. Suddenly, going to the capitol with her father doesn't seem so bad.

* * *

 _ **So, there's that. The first chapter of fanfic I've ever written. I understand it's not great, but I like this angle. I'm not sure whether or not it's really worth continuing though, so leave a review if you have any advice for me on how to improve my writing, or where the story could go. Thanks for reading.**_


	2. Stars in the Night

Over the next week, Kai and Jinora grew much closer. Texting back and forth with one another. They often found comfort in one another when talking about the struggles of being a politician's child. They were so caught up in one another, that even their friends had begun to notice something was up.

—

"Hello? Earth to Kai! You there buddy?" Skoochy said as he sat with an annoyed look on his face. Kai continued to type something on his phone, seemingly not noticing Skoochy's presence whatsoever. This only annoyed him more, and finally Skoochy grabs Kai by the shoulders and shakes him back and forth. Kai finally looks up at him. "Sorry, I zoned out. Been really distracted lately."

Skoochy grinned mischievously. "Yeah, distracted wouldn't be my choice of words here. Enamored, now that might fit better."

Kai feels a blush rush to his cheeks as he quickly puts up a flustered defense. "You have no idea what you're talking about Skooch."

Skoochy chuckled, knowing he had Kai pinned. "Oh don't I? Seems like you've been taking quite a liking to the Governor's little princess, what was her name again?"

Kai wasn't sure, but he had a feeling his blush had gotten quite a bit brighter, and he moved to brush Skoochy off. "She's just a friend Skooch, you should get out and try to make some more too."

Skoochy just gave Kai a grin and continued, "Whatever you say Fong, just wonder how the other guys are gonna react when they hear a little lady like her has caught your fancy." Feeling Kai shooting him a heated glare already, he backed off. "Whatever Fong, you do you man." With that, Skoochy walked off, jointing the rest of their usual clique where they ate lunch. Kai normally would have joined them, but today, he just didn't feel up to it, so he stayed, and began eating alone.

—-

Jinora was used to eating lunch alone. Her best friend at the school was in a separate lunch period, leaving her to eat alone quite often, and by now it just didn't bother her anymore. She went through her normal routine, going up, grabbing her lunch, and proceeding to her spot in the corner of the cafeteria, when suddenly, she spotted Kai, sitting alone a few tables away from the rest of his usual crew. Taking a deep breath, she turned and began to walk towards his table. She saw eyes turn towards her as she continued.

Kai was completely oblivious. She saw him just staring down at his phone as he ate, clearly waiting for her to text him, and she had been doing so on the way to lunch, but had put her phone away once she got into the cafeteria. Steadily, she continued walking, until she reached him, and then, she took a seat right next to him.

Looking up, Kai's eyes widened as he realized she was sitting right next to him, here, in front of _everyone._

She smiled softly, "Hey." She said to him casually, as if this was just a normal thing they did every day.

Kai, clearly a bit shocked, seemed to have his words caught in his throat. "H-hey Jinora." He said, barely forcing it out. She seemed confused, and asked, "Everything alright Kai?" He nodded, beginning to calm down.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little surprised that you're here." Kai began to relax slightly.

Jinora looked at him and frowned a bit. "Why is it a surprise? I don't have any friends in this lunch period, and I saw you sitting all by your lonesome, so I figured I'd eat over here with you, if that's alright with you of course."

Kai had to admit, whether she was trying to be adorable or not, she couldn't fail at it. "Jinora of course it's alright, I'd love to eat with you, but…" he trailed off

Jinora once again couldn't understand what Kai was getting at. "But what?" She asked, a tinge of hurt in her voice. "It's fine if you want Kai, I can just go sit in my usual spot-"

Kai stopped her abruptly, "No! Please, It's just.. are you sure you want to be seen with someone like me?"

Jinora lowered her eyes to him, and softly asked," What do you mean people like you?"

Kai sighed and tried his best to explain his reasoning to her. "It's just, you're one of the more… dignified, important, smart people in the school, and you're perfectly fine being seen with me?"

Jinora laid a hand on his shoulder, "Kai of course, why wouldn't I be? You're one of my best friends."

Kai couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Jinora, I'm literally nobody at this school. I don't do anything, I don't really know many people all too well, and most people just see me as a street rat that got lucky. I don't want you to ruin your reputation by being seen with me."

Jinora looked at him with sadness in her eyes "Kai, I value our friendship more than I value what people think about me. It's high school for crying out loud, everyone's a judgemental asshat. No matter what you do, or who you decide to run with, you'll always be judged, and if everyone is going to be judging me anyways, I'd like to be happy while they do it."

Kai smiled brighter than he had in awhile. This was why he enjoyed being around Jinora so much. She was never concerned with how other people viewed her. She was determined to live her life, judgement be damned. "You know Jinora, for a woman barely starting her senior year of high school, you seem to have a pretty great outlook on life." He smiled, looking straight into her eyes.

Jinora blushed, feeling his eyes meet hers, but she did her best to hide it and continued on with the conversation. "I'd like to think so." She said, chuckling slightly. "Hey, are you going to be at the capitol tonight? My father is dragging me along again." Her smile faded slightly at the mention of another night of her being paraded in front of the press.

Kai could tell she wasn't very enthusiastic about being forced on another capitol trip. Yung had actually been planning to call in a babysitter for him tonight, to make sure he got to bed at a decent time, as Yung had told him he saw this meeting running long into the night. He frowned slightly as he looked at her, and suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

"Jinora, I'll be right back, I need to make a quick phone call." He grinned at her as he got up to call his father, and Jinora's face practically lit up at the prospect.

After a few minutes on the phone going back and forth with his father, Kai finally convinced Yung to let him tag along to the capitol. He turned and walked back to Jinora.

"Well Jin, I've got good news and I've got bad news, so which would you like first?"

She frowned, "I guess I'll take the bad news first." Kai sat down next to her, and put on the best fake sullen face he could. "Jinora, it looks like you've got a long night tonight at the capitol." She groaned and her bubbly personality from before had seemingly died down somewhat. Kai grinned slightly, pulling her in close. "But, the good news is, it looks like you won't be spending it alone." Her lips curved upward into a smile and she pulled Kai into a hug. Both of their cheeks suddenly lit up as they blushed. Then, the sound of a loud bell rang through the cafeteria.

Kai sighed. "I'll see you tonight, alright?" Jinora smiled at the thought and struggled to keep her happiness down as she said, as calm as she could appear to be with the oxytocin rushing through her veins, "See you tonight Kai."

—-

As soon as Kai got home, he rushed to get ready. He took a quick shower, and put on the nicest clothes he could find. He walked out as they were preparing to leave and when Yung saw him his eyes nearly popped out.

"Son, why the inclination to look so nice all of the sudden?" Yung said as he smiled. He had a hunch, call it, father's intuition.

Kai, grinning over at his father, decided to dance around the truth. "No reason dad, just wanted to look nice." Yung had to fight back laughter as he turned to Kai to ask a question he had a feeling he already knew the answer to. "Kai, that Jinora you've been talking to so much lately wouldn't happen to be at the capitol tonight, would she?"

Kai immediately felt blush rise to his cheeks, and he knew Yung had got him dead on. "Yeah, I heard she may be in attendance tonight." He said as he grinned back at Yung.

Yung had read his son perfectly, and he knew it. "A little word of advice son, just be yourself, she likes you for you. " Kai smiled at his father as they climbed into their Satomobile, and before he knew it, they were off to the capitol.

—-

Jinora, much like Kai, was in quite the rush to get ready once she arrived home. She rapidly shot upstairs to her room and spent almost an hour preparing. Finally Tenzin had to call for her as it was almost time to leave.

"One minute dad!" She called from her room, and moments later she emerged, and Tenzin wasn't sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. There, at the top of the stairs, stood his daughter in the nicest dress she owned, and her hair done up perfectly, nothing out of place. "Jinora you're looking extra extravagant tonight!" She smiled. "Thanks Dad, figured I may as well make the best of the night. If the paparazzi are going to be taking 100 pictures of me walking into the capitol with you, figure I my as well look good in them, right?" Tenzin chuckled, and soon after they were in their Satomobile and headed for the capitol.

—-

When Kai and his father pulled up to the capitol, it was clear the governor had not yet arrived, as the mob of paparazzi was still there waiting for him and Jinora. He thought it was disgusting the way the media talked about Jinora so much, but this wasn't the place to have a qualm about it. The two men entered the capitol with little interference from the press, which Kai was grateful for. Once they had gotten in, Yung had told Kai the usual, he was headed to his office, don't misbehave, etc, and with that, Yung was off, leaving Kai to wait for Jinora by himself.

The wait had seemed agonizing, even though in reality it was at most ten minutes. He could hear the press swarm them as they made their way to the entrance, and he knew it couldn't be anyone else. A few moments later, the entrance to the capitol opened, and in walked the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Jinora walked through the entrance of the capitol, and Kai had no words. He'd never seen her look more beautiful. Her eyes scanned the area until she saw him, and then she bode her father goodbye and he was off to the meeting.

Jinora quickly walked over to Kai and greeted him. "Kai! My my aren't we dressed for the occasion." She said with a grin on her face as she eyed him up and down. Kai let out a quick chuckle, "I mean, standing next to you I feel a bit under dressed." Jinora felt a quick blush rising to her cheeks. "Shut up Kai!" She said as she tried to hide it. He laughed again. "Your wish is my command Jinora. You ready to explore some more of this place with me tonight?" Jinora thought for a moment, then spoke. "Actually, I was hoping I could take you to my favorite spot in the whole capitol tonight, if you don't mind." Kai nodded, eager to see where she spent so many hours before they'd met.

"Okay, just keep your eyes closed and keep following me." Jinora said as Kai followed behind her. "Jinora I've had my eyes closed for 10 minutes now, this better be good." Jinora grinned, "It will be, trust me." She led him forward a few more steps, and out a door. Kai felt the outside air hit him, "Jinora, are we outside?" Jinora smiled softly. "Find out for yourself. You can open your eyes now."

Kai opened his eyes and was overtaken by the scene before him. He stood on the roof of the capitol, staring over the city. He could see cars speeding by below them, he could see the many skyscrapers towering above them in all directions. But most beautiful of all was the stars in the night sky above them. The roof had the perfect view to just stop and look up at the stars.

Jinora enjoyed watching Kai take in the sights from the roof. He seemed genuinely amazed. "This is where I go when I just want to get away from everything. At night, it's the perfect place to just lie down and look up at the stars." Jinora then laid down on the roof.

Kai, seemingly still breathing it in, laid down by her side. "Jinora, this is beautiful." "I'm glad you think so too." She said, as she smiled at him.

They stayed there, talking for hours about anything that came into mind.

"Okay Jin, I think I've got a little game we can play while we're up here." Kai said with a grin on his face. Jinora grinned right back. "Whatcha got for me Kai?" Kai explained his game to Jinora. "Alright, we both go back and forth, telling one another things that we wouldn't expect the other to know, or something that very few would know about you. Sound good? Jinora nodded.

"Okay Jin, I guess I'll go first. Before I was adopted, I learned to fight, and I was pretty good at it if I do say so myself. My old orphanage, they used to, uh- on second thought, nevermind-" Jinora looked at him with a comforting look. "Kai, it's alright, I'm not here to judge. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, that's fine." Kai shook his head. "No no, I can do this. My old orphanage, they used to enter me in underground fights across the city." Jinora looked horrified "I got the hell beat out of my a couple times. Not really a time I like to remember, but at least I learned to fight and fend for myself."

Jinora looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Kai I'm so sorry that you were put through that . Nobody deserves that." Kai reached up and wiped away her tears. "It's alright Jin, I'm here now, that's all that matters, I'm here, and I'm with you." Jinora turned to him and smiled. "I guess that makes it my turn." She said. Kai smiled softly. "It would appear so."

Jinora took a deep breath. "Well Kai, you're not the only one trained to fight." Kai looks up at her with a look of surprise. "No way." He said softly, and she responded with a confident, "Yes way." He grinned at her, and she grinned back. "My dad had me training in Judo and Taekwondo since I was 6. I have a black belt in both." Kai looked at her and smiled, "Remind me never to get on your bad side." She smiled back at him. "I'll make a note of it." She said.

This went on for about 30 more minutes, until Jinora got a text from her father saying the meeting was over and they both headed back down.

Before they parted ways, Jinora quickly pulled Kai in close and kissed him on the cheek. "That's for a great night. Thank you Kai." For a second, all Kai could do was stand there, as if he was in shock, but after a moment, he snapped out of it. "The pleasure was all mine. I had a wonderful time tonight, and I hope we can do it again soon."

They parted ways after that, Kai heading home with Yung, and Jinora with Tenzin.

—-

On the way home, Jinora sensed her father was very upset, and decided to inquire about it.

"What's wrong father? Is everything alright?" She asked, concern clear in her voice.

Her father sighed heavily. "Councilman Fong shot down my budget plan for the second time tonight. _Spirits_ , that man is stubborn as a mule. I hear his son is a filthy delinquent, so maybe he should spend less time worrying about the damn budget, and more time on his screw up Vaatu forsaken kid!" Tenzin shouted angrily. At this Jinora got upset. "Kai is not a delinquent!" She screamed. Tenzin was shocked so bad he almost drove the car right off the road. Tenzin, though still shaken, fired back. "Watch your tone with me young lady! And why would you know anything about his son? Oh Raava, Jinora, please tell me you're not socializing with this boy."

Jinora took offense to that. "And what if I am? You don't know a damn thing about him, so why don't you just back off? It's not Kai's fault you can't get a budget to pass to save your life!" At that Tenzin stopped the car dead in its tracks.

He turned and looked her straight in the eye. "Jinora Gyatso! I don't know where this little hot streak of yours is coming from but once we're home you can march right up to your room and stay there! We'll talk about this in the morning. Until then, I don't want to hear another word out of you!" After that, Tenzin resumed driving, and when they returned home, Jinora did just that. Pema had thought she may have heard crying coming from Jinora's room, but she decided to let it be for now, and handle it in the morning.

* * *

Another chapter down! I feel like that one was much better than my first, and again, I'm new to this, so if you have any suggestions or feedback feel free to leave a review!


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